I hope you all have a great week. I had a great weekend, I did figure out my tummy problem it was broccoli!!

I found a picture of me in 1995 I couldn't believe my eyes I did not recognize myself for a minute oh my goodness...........I do feel proud of myself.

I was looking at alot of your pics, you all are such an inspiration, wow!! Has any one tried the pink lemonade? Is it good or just fair? I haven't had anything I didn't like.

I am so happy you figured out the broccoli issues! That should make things better. I love comparing pictures. It is about the only way I can see the differences. I am so glad you can see the changes you have made.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clarice41

Can anyone tell me how to get the weight ticker at the bottom of my page? Thanks!

Post frequently and be patient. The ticker is a reward for completing (I Think) 20 days and 25 posts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marionm

I had a dream our family was entering the witness protection program last night! It was just weird!

This is kind of the topic of a NSV for me though... I've stopped snoring and I'm actually sleeping well enough that I am dreaming.

YEAH!! It is so nice to finally be sleeping better. I had that benefit too. I hope sleeping better helps you with the weight loss too!

Quote:

Originally Posted by iowahawkeyemom

I had one question, is it alright to eat canned veggies? I find myself getting a can of spinach out of the cupboard for almost every meal. Started thinking maybe this is not the best thing to do and that it should be fresh or frozen.

Also thinking about doing IP packets for all meals this week instead of cooking my dinner for my protein. I hit the 160's last week and really want to speed through them to get to the 150's. Any thoughts on doing all IP packages vs a cooked protein for supper?

Hope to WI this afternoon which will be a few days early, but I usually plan my trips since I live 45 minutes from my clinic. Keeping my fingers crossed that I will hit the 20 pounds lost number when I weigh in.

Have a great day everyone!

Yes, you can do the canned foods. It isn't the most nutritious. Fresh is best, frozen is good, canned with low sodium is ok. If you are eating it and not skipping you are in better shape than not having it.

(I prefer fresh for the added nutrition and to avoid the aluminum, bpa, and other issues that are said to exist with canned goods.)

Regarding the packets, ask your coach. Some coaches are ok with you using 4 packets a day (1 for a dinner replacement) for a one week period to boost weight loss. It isn't the recommended way long term.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NCgirlie

Hello and happy Monday!

I've seen mention of IP boot camp in several posts now. Can someone educate this newbie on what IP boot camp is? And what is it's purpose? Maybe it was in some literature that you received, but as I mentioned previously, I got 1 page giving me what I can and cannot eat during phase 1 and the only other thing I got was a page to track my food/water/vitamins/exercise.

Boot camp is just eating the most basic level of carbs. It means no occasional veggies, no restricted packets ( you can only use the drinks, yogurt, pudding, jello, soup, and omelet), 4 cups of veggies a day and unlimited lettuce. Some coaches used to tell their clients do only do that until they had reached 70-80 percent loss of the weight they wanted to lose. That isn't required by Ideal Protein. I did the "boot camp" from Nov 20 to May 20. It works but, it is very restrictive and boring. It is not easy. It can be done for just a few weeks at a time too if you want to speed things up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mama2three

It appears that I opened a can of worms about the IP philosophy. I have a couple of comments/ concerns. I understand where you are coming from as far as transforming your mind. I believe if the diet is only to lose the weight and return to previous eating patterns, one would end up at the starting block once again in a short amount of time. But, with that said, I'm not quite sure how I see IP teaching someone how to eat healthy long term. I am only in phase one and very new to the whole system but as far as I can see, it is not healthy for one to eat out of little foil packets for the rest of their lives. During the IP protocol the plan is to unbalance the diet to lose fat and maintain/ build muscle. Once you have successfully completed the protocol, you would want a balanced diet. A balanced diet would include fruits and vegtables, and yes- carbs.I do not believe wanting to eat some green beans and potato with my turkey is jumping off the cliff. ...If the philosphy of IP is to eliminate carbs, including and especially healthy carbs for the remainder of my life, than this diet is not for me and would not have been approved by the FDA as a healthy option for weight loss. Our great God has given us a wide assortment of fruits and vegtables among many other beautiful things and they were meant for our enjoyment and health. Just my $0.2.

Mama,

As you move through the phases of the program your coach will give your new tools and new information to be used to train yourself how to eat well for life and in a way that will keep the weight off.

During phase 1 things are unbalanced. In phase 3 things begin to be more balanced and, in phase 4 you do get back a full spectrum of foods - fruit, all veggies, grains, dairy, all extras! You will also be told how to use them to keep your body healthy and trim.

Green beans are an occasional food (no more than 2cups of occasional foods TOTAL per week) You could have them when ever in moderation. The potatoes are not allowed because they are a high carb food. In moderation for thanksgiving (especially if that were your only special thing) you are not jumping off a cliff. Just realize we are allowed rutabaga occasionally and 1/2cup is 17carbs and 1/2 cup of mashed potato made with whole milk only is about 19carbs. So if you want to have green beans and potatoes and stay as close to plan as possible, try to keep both portions of those as close to 1/2 cup each or to not exceed 2 cups total of the occasional veggies. Just remember the potatoes are not IP appropriate in phase 1 for other reasons too and you must carefully moderate the portion.

IP's philosphy is to eliminate specific carbs for phase1 and to add back healthy carbs (grains, other fruits and veggies, dairy) as you progress. The idea is to unbalance things now while your body heals and then learn how to take care of it for life. You can eat the other stuff too someday but, if your really want to maintain the results you get and live a healthy life in a trim state, you will never go back to living on or regularly enjoying the processed, junk food carbs, snacks, treats, dessserts. Combinations of high fats, high carbs, and sugars are likely to be the rarest of treats in the future.

If what you are worried about getting back are "god's great gifts" the fruits, grains, root veggies, sweet veggies, creams, milk, cheese ... those things are just removed temporarily. You will get back all the healthy REAL food.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NCgirlie

1. it says *serving size must be respected with no more/no less than inidicated* regarding veggies. I was told by my coach to eat 2 cups of veggies at lunch and 2 at dinner, but he said I didn't have to eat them all if I was feeling full....to stop when I felt full. I've stopped when I felt full....should I make sure I eat the full 2 cups going forward?

2. 7 oz or fish or 5 oz of meat. I was told 8 oz of fish and 6 oz of meat.....and I did ask, and it was pre-cook weight. So I'm guessing this would be close to the 7/5 oz after cooking....or do I need to adjust?

3. should I avoid restricted items the 1st few weeks? my coach didn't mention this. I quickly realized how much I look forward to the yummy caramel bars...then saw the # of carbs in them and have told myself no more than 2-3 per week. But, I can do without them for another week or so if I need to.

Thanks for your help.....I really appreciate it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by RhondaLynn

funny, my coach just said to have 2 cups of vegetables a day plus unlimited salad.

Eat all your veggies.. all 4 cups! space them out from breakfast to dinner if you have to.

Unless there has been a change the pre cooked weight of meat should be 5 oz or 7oz fish. A little more won't matter much because so much fluid cooks out of the meat/fish.

You are not required to skip having the restricted bars and packets. You can have them. It is best to wait 2 weeks if you can and get solidly into ketosis. If you can only have 2 or 3 a week after that... you will be doing quite well!

The protocol is 4 cups of veg/day + unlimited lettuce. 2 cups veg at lunch and 2 at dinner is the norm, and lettuce whenever you want.

Re "eating it all" I suggest that you listen to your body. If you can't eat it all in one go, then stop. Force feeding ourselves anything, including vegetables is not a good idea. However, your body needs the vitamins, minerals, fibre, enzymes and other micro-nutrients and the carbohydrates provided by the veggies, so do your best to get them in. I sometimes eat some veggies as a snack--I especially like radishes for the crunch factor!

I find it easiest to weigh meat/fish before cooking, so I use 6 oz for meat and 8 oz for fish. Cooking evaporates water from the meat/fish, so it will weigh less cooked. By starting with these numbers, I know I'm going to get my 4-5 oz of meat or 6-7 oz of fish. Poultry, for hygiene reasons I prefer to weigh cooked, and then I use 5 oz as my measure.

Use of restricted foods is up to you, although not to exceed 1/day. Some who have been on this program for a while found that using restricteds (bars, cereals, chips, etc.) regularly slowed their weight loss a bit, especially if used early in the program. I chose not to have any for the first two or three weeks. Now I have them occasionally. Sometimes two days in a row, sometimes not at all for several days. For me it mostly depends on hunger level and hormones--which tend to affect hunger level. At present, I prefer not to plan them into my daily food choices, because "chocolate bars" and "chips" are not things I want to be relying on or used to having regularly. I save them more for one of those "I could eat the house" hormone moments, or as a treat on movie night sort of thing!

So I have been thinking... I really want to be done by the time Brandon comes home, and I had always thought I would get to my 160 and then decide if I wanted to go to 150... It takes 4 weeks to phase out, so I am thinking I will keep doing phase 1 for 7 more weeks, and then Nov. 29 go into phase 2 for two weeks, then phase 3 for two weeks minus two days because I want Christmas dinner. I have 19.9 lbs to go to my 160, but I am averaging 3.09 a week..

I think I might either just make my 160 by doing this, or get a little lower that 160... I had also thought about getting to 160, toning up my extra skin and then deciding if I wanna hop back on the IP phase 1 wagon to lose a bit more... But I can still do that regardless of which path I choose... Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated!!

Do you ever find you have days on this diet where you just don't wanna see another green veg. That is me today. I am tired, cranky, don't wanna cook and prep for myself. I found myself wanting to be snappy with people. My weigh in wasn't as good as I would have liked...but it was down about a 1.5lb..

I have been doing the cooking for my family and cooking for myself (not complaining and my husband is a huge support and would take it over if I asked..up till now I have enjoyed all the cooking for other..today..not so much.

I seem to have a day like this about once a week...not as bad as this though...I am hoping it is the diet either that or I am just a b*#!*h at heart..

Anyway..came to vent..still love the diet...am digging my heals in and not going to go off protocol.

Happy Monday Everyone!!!
I haven't been around for the last week so I thought I would pop in & say hello. Also, congrats to everyone on their weightlosses last week I was lurking about and was very proud of you all!

I am no longer discouraged thanks to the wonderful ladies who offered me kind words on this forum last week, thank you so much.

Last but not least I FINALLY GOT MY TICKER haha it was probably the highlight of my weekend.

Do you ever find you have days on this diet where you just don't wanna see another green veg. That is me today. I am tired, cranky, don't wanna cook and prep for myself. I found myself wanting to be snappy with people. My weigh in wasn't as good as I would have liked...but it was down about a 1.5lb..

I have been doing the cooking for my family and cooking for myself (not complaining and my husband is a huge support and would take it over if I asked..up till now I have enjoyed all the cooking for other..today..not so much.

I seem to have a day like this about once a week...not as bad as this though...I am hoping it is the diet either that or I am just a b*#!*h at heart..

Anyway..came to vent..still love the diet...am digging my heals in and not going to go off protocol.

Thanks for letting me vent..off to have a nap.

Blessings,
Cie

Hey Cie!

Yes, it happens. I actually would gag as I choked down salads and veggies I had just "had enough" of eating. It comes and goes for me.

I also did all the special cooking. I started at the holidays last year and still participated in cookie exchange. YEP! It was risky. I made over 12 dozen cookies, 3 trays of peppermint bark, and 8 batches of fudge. I never tasted any of it. I loved cooking before IP and I loved cooking for others. I really did more baking than cooking. I made separate meals for BF and family and, me. I loved it usually. THEN... .one day.. It changed. I no longer wanted to cook like that. I started switching things up. I realized if I shouldn't eat like that, should they? I started offering them a healthy low carb option but the rest of the meal was MY meal. I stopped making crazy desserts and breakfast foods and did healthy things for them 90 percent of the time. They wondered why and I told them why "I loved them". I didn't want them to someday have the issues with weight or health that I did.

It made such an impression on my nieces and nephews. They say "you use to be our fat aunt but now you're pretty!" My niece actually thinks about things she eats and will say, "I can't have that. I had too many carbs earlier" She chooses fruits and grains instead of sweets quite frequently. My nephew chooses greek yogurt instead of a brownie now. My changes have changed my family because I made them a part of it.

I used to love the cooking now, I am learning to love a new kind of eating and my family is learning it with me.

First WI today. My first week was rough to be honest. I fought nausea/headaches all week long and cheated 3 times (on relatively harmless food.. no burgers and fries or anything). I figured out what packets make me gag and what I like, so this week should go smoother.

Down 13.8 pounds... in... one... week... dot dot dot 355 to 341.2

I am trying not to get too excited, I don't want to expect this every week and only drop like 5 this week but yea... my pants feel looser >.<

Sheila - I like the flavour of the pink lemonade, but it foams and foams and foams..... way more foam than actual drink. I usually end up eating the foam with a spoon so that it doesn't go to waste. That said, I've always made it according to package instructions. Think I'll try MarionM's method next time and see if that helps control the foam.

Clarice - does the mango peach foam up like the lemonade? I haven't tried to peach mango yet, but it sounds delish.

ShrinkingSusie - congratulations on meeting your mini-goal!!! What a great accomplishment. Perfect start to a Monday

Yes, the peach mango foams up and also has little itty bitty chunks of peach and mango in it. It is good if you like fruity drinks.

Hello Everyone! Hope you all had a good weekend. I never got a chance to get online over the weekend so I missed you all. I'm kind of bummed as I only lost 2 pounds this last week. I've been losing so rapidly and my body final slowed down a bit. I am still losing though so I should not be so bummed. Also I know I slowed down on my water intake so I'm sure that has some to do with it. This week I'll drink more!

Hmmmm, I'll have to work on a drink more water cheer for tom.!

Quote:

Originally Posted by shrinkingsusie

Good Morning! Down to 179.9 this morning... Reached the little mini-goal I set for myself to be in the 170s after today's WI. Just made it, but WAHOO!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soon 2 B MrsT

Happy Monday!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. The soon to be hubby and I went to Houston over the weekend for a wedding. It was a mini sorority/grad school reunion too. I wore my great new black dress that made it's debut on the boards early in September. 3 people didn't even recognize me, 10+ made me twirl to show off the new me, and countless compliments were made. Needless to say, it was a great weekend.

AND- despite traveling and eating the majority of my meals out, I still managed to drop 1lb as of this morning. It's unofficial, but still. I think I would have hit the floor had I stepped on my scale this morning and it was up.

For those who know my wedding dress story, the NEW dress comes in this week and my first fitting is on Saturday!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!

Wonderful, hope we can see pics. soon! So exciting!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mama2three

A brilliant post from Rocky Monarch about a shift in mindset required for lifetime success in Phase 4, maintaining the body we've worked so hard to get during Phase 1. Read it by clicking on the blue arrow next to her name in the quote below

Hey Rocky Monarch. I appreciate your honesty about the holidays. It appears that I opened a can of worms about the IP philosophy. I have a couple of comments/ concerns. I understand where you are coming from as far as transforming your mind. I believe if the diet is only to lose the weight and return to previous eating patterns, one would end up at the starting block once again in a short amount of time. But, with that said, I'm not quite sure how I see IP teaching someone how to eat healthy long term. I am only in phase one and very new to the whole system but as far as I can see, it is not healthy for one to eat out of little foil packets for the rest of their lives. During the IP protocol the plan is to unbalance the diet to lose fat and maintain/ build muscle. Once you have successfully completed the protocol, you would want a balanced diet. A balanced diet would include fruits and vegtables, and yes- carbs. I do not believe wanting to eat some green beans and potato with my turkey is jumping off the cliff. My question was strictly in reference to the opinions of others as to whether or not to have my Thanksgiving meal with the family while on protocol and return immediately to phase 1 to phase off the diet and see that I can maintain weight loss, as my coach is encouraging. I have not cheated at all with this diet and refuse to do so. I have done alot of work in this area of my life and refuse to go back. My weight has come from three babies in three years and is a lot different than sitting at home on the couch eating unhealthy foods and gaining weight. If the philosphy of IP is to eliminate carbs, including and especially healthy carbs for the remainder of my life, than this diet is not for me and would not have been approved by the FDA as a healthy option for weight loss. Our great God has given us a wide assortment of fruits and vegtables among many other beautiful things and they were meant for our enjoyment and health. Just my $0.2.

Oh my, you had to remind me! I have to admit that the holidays have me stressed all ready, I'm such a sugar addict!!! I know I will do some planned holiday time (within reason) from IP on a couple days of the season. I think that is really a very personal decision. I've been on many diets and missed many holiday specialties, it wasn't worth it to me. Part of learning to maintain weight loss is learning how to make reasonable decisions during holidays and special occasions. I have the utmost respect for those that get through with staying on plan the whole time though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by karleem

Hello fellow Ip'rs! Its been a while since I read the boards. Great to see everyones progress! I can't wait to get to onederland! I'm sooooo close!

Lucky ducky your almost there!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by daninspokane

First WI today. My first week was rough to be honest. I fought nausea/headaches all week long and cheated 3 times (on relatively harmless food.. no burgers and fries or anything). I figured out what packets make me gag and what I like, so this week should go smoother.

Down 13.8 pounds... in... one... week... dot dot dot 355 to 341.2

I am trying not to get too excited, I don't want to expect this every week and only drop like 5 this week but yea... my pants feel looser >.<

Congratulations, that first week or two are so fun and motivating, I wish it stayed that way forever. But at least it's still steady and fast, this is a great diet!

I have my first appointment tomorrow to get started on the IP diet. I have been reading and reading and reading the info here and I KNOW! all you and your comments will be my "will power".

I am even going to start a blog...........I know nothing about doing this just feel like I need a place to put down my thoughts, trials, etc. I want this to be the answer for me and I want and am ready to be successful. I hope someone sees it. haha

Can anyone tell me how to get the weight ticker at the bottom of my page? Thanks!

Hi, Clarice, You can get a ticker after you have been a member for 20 days and have made 20 posts. I believe you can fill out the information now by clicking on "quick links" on the purple bar, then clicking on "signature weight tracker" and following steps as directed.

I'm back from my WI and yayyyyy ~ I lost 8.5 lbs in my third week on IP!!! With the .5 lb from last week, I've got to change my ticker to 9 more lbs down. I'm so excited that I'm scared to eat anything -- I might gain a pound back. LOL

As you move through the phases of the program your coach will give your new tools and new information to be used to train yourself how to eat well for life and in a way that will keep the weight off.

During phase 1 things are unbalanced. In phase 3 things begin to be more balanced and, in phase 4 you do get back a full spectrum of foods - fruit, all veggies, grains, dairy, all extras! You will also be told how to use them to keep your body healthy and trim.

Green beans are an occasional food (no more than 2cups of occasional foods TOTAL per week) You could have them when ever in moderation. The potatoes are not allowed because they are a high carb food. In moderation for thanksgiving (especially if that were your only special thing) you are not jumping off a cliff. Just realize we are allowed rutabaga occasionally and 1/2cup is 17carbs and 1/2 cup of mashed potato made with whole milk only is about 19carbs. So if you want to have green beans and potatoes and stay as close to plan as possible, try to keep both portions of those as close to 1/2 cup each or to not exceed 2 cups total of the occasional veggies. Just remember the potatoes are not IP appropriate in phase 1 for other reasons too and you must carefully moderate the portion.

IP's philosphy is to eliminate specific carbs for phase1 and to add back healthy carbs (grains, other fruits and veggies, dairy) as you progress. The idea is to unbalance things now while your body heals and then learn how to take care of it for life. You can eat the other stuff too someday but, if your really want to maintain the results you get and live a healthy life in a trim state, you will never go back to living on or regularly enjoying the processed, junk food carbs, snacks, treats, dessserts. Combinations of high fats, high carbs, and sugars are likely to be the rarest of treats in the future.

If what you are worried about getting back are "god's great gifts" the fruits, grains, root veggies, sweet veggies, creams, milk, cheese ... those things are just removed temporarily. You will get back all the healthy REAL food.

Thank you for explaining. I really enjoy reading your posts and I was able to catch the new thread on holidays. I am thinking of trying the cauliflower mashed potatoes for TG. I really get alot of great info from your posts as well as many others. Thanks, again.